Slam dunk : Hanamichi's rebirth
by Sentinel1995
Summary: Hanamichi's encounter with a former player will forever change Shohoku's dynamic. Read on as Hanamichi accept his new role as a Center and try and fill the void left by Akagi. Will Shohoku continue on and fulfill Akagi's dream of conquering the nation?
1. Chapter 1

**Slam ****Dunk : Sakuragi's Rebirth**

It was 6 AM in the morning. The sun was rising lazily, casting warmth upon the kanagawa Prefecture. One man was sitting in the nearby basketball court holding the orange ball between the palms of his hands.

He was staring at the ball in deep thought. This man was Hanamichi Sakuragi, The power forward for the rising high school basketball team, Shohoku High. He was the self-proclaimed Tensai of the team. He was gifted and incredibly athletic. He was 189 cm tall and had a well built body due to his constant fights in his past. He had an incredible knack for the game, picking up things far quicker than any other player. The most prominent feature was his fiery red hair. But he was overconfident and arrogant. He always acted like an idiot on the court and during practice.

Hanamichi had just been released from rehabilitation. He was in rehab for a few weeks following his back injury in the infamous Sannoh game, in which a no name high school team made of trouble makers pushed the undisputed kings of Japanese high school basketball and finally beat them in a heart clenching moment.

Hanamichi was not allowed to play basketball until he was fully recovered. Though he resented not being able to play basketball, he was happy about the attention he received from the kind and motherly Doctor who presided over his sessions.

He was knocked out of his reverie by the ever so familiar sound of basketball being dribbled. Sighing once more, He took a look at the court beside which he was contemplating on what to do. He saw man in his mid 30's. The man was bouncing the basketball with his right hand while giving Hanamichi a questioning look. The man was pretty tall. He even towered over Hanamichi by a good margin. Hanamichi estimated him to be around 199 cm. The man had black hair which he kept in a buzz cut. He had brown eyes which showed a ton of experience. He was well built for a man of his age.

The man who was staring at Hanamichi decided to break the silence. He cleared his throat and spoke,

"What are you doing son? I was watching you for quite a while, but you were just sitting there and staring at the ball."

Hanamichi was about to retort in his usual manner but thought about all the time he had acted arrogant which hadn't ended well. He shut his mouth before he said something stupid and put on his happy go lucky face.

"It's nothing, Ojii-san. This tensai…." He thumped his chest to emphasize the point, "was just wondering how to get my team into the nationals this year."

The man was surprised by Hanamichi's sudden change in demeanor, but he kept a straight face and looked at Hanamichi.

"Genius..?" he questioned.

Hanamichi immediately went through his routine of exaggerated details and told the man how he was the rebound king of Kanagawa and how he could have been the rebound king at the nationals, if he hadn't been injured.

The man had a sudden look of realization on his face. He pointed at Hanamichi and Said..

"Oh, you're from Shohoku, The team that beat Sannoh in the nationals."

Hanamichi looked proud of the fact but suddenly remembered the embarrassing defeat at the hands of Aiwa gakuen.

"It's true we beat Sannoh but people think it was luck as we just won by a single point. That thought was further cemented when we were humiliated by Aiwa Gakuen."

The old man just kept listening to Hanamichi. He had seen the young man in front of him play. He had seen those crucial offensive rebounds and the blocks that Hanamichi had gotten throughout the game. It was a shame to see him get injured. The man wanted to see this unpredictable kid and his team further in the tournament.

"So what's been bothering you..?", the old man questioned Hanamichi.

"It's just that, our Captain Gori…. I mean Takenori Akagi, graduated this year and though he was giant gorilla, he taught me everything about basketball. He's gone and I don't know how we will manage without him under the basket."

Suddenly Hanamichi realized that he was talking to a totally unknown person.

"Hey, Who are you ? Are you spying on this genius for Ryonan? Maybe that Old man from Kainan.. ?"

The man burst out laughing on hearing Hanamichi's question. He placated Hanamichi by telling him that he wasn't involved with any of the high schools. Hanamichi still had a look in his eye warning the man.

"What's your name kid ?"

The question took Hanamichi by surprise but he recovered quickly.

"I'm Hanamichi Sakuragi of Shohoku High basketball team."

"Hanamichi….." The man recited the name before introducing himself.

"I'm Kazuhiko Shun."

"So tell me Hanamichi, Why are you worried about Akagi-kun's absence ?"

Hanamichi didn't have to think to answer that.

"Gori….. He was the driving force of Shohoku, The king of the underbasket. Moreover he was the pillar of Shohoku. Not that I doubt Ryo-chin's ability as the new captain but he doesn't have the fire equivalent to that of Akagi."

Hanamichi suddenly realized that Kazuhiko wouldn't have known all his team mates. He apologized for rambling on, but Kazuhiko stopped him by raising his hand and waving off Hanamichi's apology.

"I'm Familiar with Shohoku's basketball team. I'm a former player myself, so I tend keep eyes on the game to see if anyone good pops up. Last year had so many good players in the nationals. It was a shame that you couldn't go further."

Discovering their common ground of Basketball made their interaction easier. Hanamichi reflected on his thoughts of filling Akagi's shoes since he was the only player with the length to play the center position. Kazuhiko was beginning to understand Hanamichi's dilemma.

"You're worried if you can match Akagi-kun, Aren't you ?"

Hanamichi knew Kazuhiko had hit the nail on the head. From Kazuhiko's smile, he knew his face must have shown it.

"You really shouldn't think thoughts like this. Akagi-kun was an amazing player, no doubt in my mind. But you shouldn't beat yourself up on things that can or cannot happen. Just remember what happened in the Sannoh game. Akagi-kun was so rattled by Masashi's skills that it hurt his game and nearly brought Shohoku to the ground."

Hanamichi listened carefully. The way Kazuhiko was talking showed that he was a veteran in the sport Hanamichi loved so much.

"You should worry about improving your game rather than worry if you will be able to match someone who played totally different. Akagi-kun worked hard to reach the level he played at and you should do the same. Right now, you should focus on your basics. You can never be too good at the fundamentals."

Kazuhiko got up, dusting his pants and prepared to leave. Hanamichi was sitting in the same place with a thoughtful look on his face. Just as he turned the corner of the entrance leading to the court, kazuhiko looked over his shoulders,

"Although if you wanna get better, I could give you a few tips. I'll be here every morning in case you decide to become better than the Hanamichi Sakuragi of the sannoh game."

With those parting words, Kazuhiko left the court. Hanamichi knew that he had to get better if wished to beat Rukawa. He knew that Rukawa was better than him and he had to accept the fact after Rukawa thrashed him in their one-on-one. He then remembered Sendoh, Eiji and finally another Rookie just like himself, Hiroshi Morishige.

He knew that he had to get infinitely better if he wanted to beat all the people on his list. This day was the day that Hanamichi Sakuragi, "Tensai Basketto-man" will be reborn.


	2. The Return

**Thank you for the reviews and I seriously hope to make this into a good story that picks up where the manga ended and gives readers a good conclusion. Updates maybe erratic as I am in my 3****rd**** year of college, so please bear with me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own slamdunk or any of the characters in it. Though I believe, Kazuhiko Shun is my OC.**

After his meeting with the mysterious person who called himself Kazuhiko, Hanamichi headed to school, after a long time off to heal his back. The staff and the administration had excused him after they learned of his injuries. Today was the first day that he would get to play Basketball after a long time.

He walked through the familiar gates of his high school and headed straight to his class. On his way, He met a familiar sight; Matsui and Fujii were heading right towards him. He smiled and waved at them. He had grown to like them after witnessing the two cheer Shohoku in every one of their games. They were a part of the Shohoku high basketball family. The duo turned around to see the tall redhead heading towards them and their mouth fell agape. They had not seen or heard from the redhead ever since he went to rehab. Their only source of information was Haruko who gave them updates on Hanamichi that she got through the letters he wrote back. Therefore, to see the outspoken redhead in front of them was a huge shock.

Fujii was the first one to break out of her stunned state, "Sakuragi-kun, Is that really you? "She asked enthusiastically. She kicked herself for asking such a stupid question. The question knocked Matsuii out of her funk as well. Both of them looked eagerly at the redhead who smiled at their enthusiasm. His face broke into a child like grin and he started scratching the back of his Buzz cut head, "Of course. This tensai is back to save the basketball team, Nyahahahaha."

Even though both of them were initially scared of Hanamichi, They learned from watching Hanamichi interacting with the Gundam that he had more to him than he showed. Now looking at him acting like a child at the mention of basketball confirmed their thoughts. However, before they could ask him anything else, the school bell rang, prompting Hanamichi to fall out of his "tensai laugh".

He straightened out and faced the duo, "Well, we better get going. If not, we're going to be late Matsui-san, Fujii-san."

The two girls nodded at the redhead and they headed for their class. But before the girls were out of earshot, Hanamichi asked them to keep his return a secret. He told them that he wanted to surprise everyone with his return. The girls nodded and bid farewell to the energetic redhead before turning the corner and heading to their class.

The day went by as smoothly as it could have for the redhead. He was surprised to be given a hero's welcome when everybody managed to knock themselves out of their stupor after seeing the redhead. Youhei and the rest of his Gundam were the happiest of the bunch, grateful to have their leader back.

He slept through most of the classes. Unfortunately, Mr. Kobayashi had the honor of handling mathematics for Hanamichi. The poor teacher broke his chalk pieces over 4 times, once for every time he heard Hanamichi snore.

After making it through the day, Hanamichi was finally ready to head out to practice. He slid his bag over his head and hung the bag around his shoulders. He turned to see Takamiya staring outside looking for pretty girls. This brought some fond memories for Hanamichi. He just smiled and called Takamiya.

"Hey Takamiya…"

"What is it Hanamichi ? Can't you see I'm busy doing recon?" was the portly friend's only reply. He did not even turn his head.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm heading for practice and I'll see you tomorrow. Tell Youhei and the guys too." Without even waiting for a reply, Hanamichi headed out of the class.

**SHOHOKU HIGH BASKETBALL GYM: 4.15 pm**

As Hanamichi neared the basketball gym, he could already hear the familiar sound of basketballs being dribbled and the squeaks of sneakers against the wooden floor of the gym. He neared the double door of the gym but stopped right before entering. He took a deep breath. A voice with a zen like aura whispered in his mind,

"Relax…."

Hanamichi remembered his Coach's voice from the shooting practice and felt his body go slack.

"Relax….", The voice whispered again but this time the voice came from behind him. Hanamichi turned around to see where the voice had come from only to find his coach standing behind him with a small smile on his face.

Hanamichi jumped back in shock, not expecting to see anybody behind him.

"Yahhhhhh! Oyaji, Don't scare me like that again."

"Ho ho ho ho, Sakuragi-kun. You have finally returned, have you ?"

The laugh made the coach's belly bounce a little. Hanamichi immediately went into his **Tensai basketto-man** mode and started laughing.

"Nyahahahaha….. Of course Oyaji. Did you really think that a simple back injury can stop this tensai from playing his beloved sport ? I'm immortal Oyaji…. Immortal…. Nyahahahahah."

Anzai sensei's eyes widened for a split second before a genuine smile full of warmth and kindness broke out on his face. He gestured Hanamichi towards the door and merely smiled.

"So, Let's go Sakuragi-kun."

Hanamichi straightened up, headed straight for the door, and pulled it open in one motion. The sudden sound of the door being opened startled the members that were practicing inside. Ryota miyagi, the new captain had been running drills to brush up on the basics for everybody. He was pissed that somebody had interrupted their training session. It was a hard blow for the team to lose a center like Akagi and a mood maker like Kogure. So he had to work everyone really hard for the team to even match the shadow of the Shohoku team that beat Sannoh. He turned around to give a piece of his mind to whoever interrupted practice,

"Who the hell….."

All his words came to standstill after he caught sight of the familiar red hair in a monk style. He was shocked. Hanamichi Sakuragi, The **Rebounding monster** of Shohoku was standing in front of him smiling in glee. Next to Hanamichi, stood the coach with his ever present Zen aura.

Everybody in practice turned to see what the ruckus was about and everybody had the same dumbfounded face except for a certain super rookie who was not easily shocked. Mitsui, Ayako, Yasuda, Kakuta, Shiozaki and a couple of freshmen were gaping at the scene.

"Hanamichi… Is that you ?"

"Sakuragi-kun, Are you okay ? Can you play basketball again ?"

Hanamichi was bombarded by similar questions after everyone came to their senses. Mitsui and Ryota pulled him into a group hug and Ayako was at his side patting his head, congratulating him on his recovery.

After everyone had the time to welcome the redhead, Ryota asked the question that was on the minds of every player in the gym.

"Can you play basketball again Hanamichi ?"

Everyone held their breaths waiting for Hanamichi's answer. And just like at the time with Matsui and Fujii, his face broke into a childish grin. "Of course this tensai can play basketball again Ryo-chin. Basketball is my life, Nyahahaha….."

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief before Ryota told everyone to return to practice. Just as Ryota had given the instructions, Anzai-sensei called the regular starters towards him. Ryota, Mitsui, Rukawa and Hanamichi stepped towards the coach. Hanamichi looked at his rival and gave the tiniest of nods which was returned before the pair turned their attentions towards the coach.

He looked towards Hanamichi, "Sakuragi-kun, Has the doctor given his consent for you to continue playing basketball ?"

Hanamichi nodded vigorously, "I obeyed the doctor's every instruction. She was very nice to me. She told me that if I took it easy until I completed my therapy, I could play basketball sooner."

The coach nodded, "Now that we have Sakuragi-kun back on the team, we have regained an advantage under the basket. Though you have returned, We still have a huge void left by Akagi-kun. A void, which you have to fill Sakuragi-kun."

Hanamichi recalled Kazuhiko's words and nodded his head. "I'm a long way from Gori but this tensai will catch up and beat Gori."

These words surprised everyone in the gym. The self proclaimed Tensai had actually admitted to being inferior to someone. Even Anzai-sensei seemed surprised.

"Good to see you learn some humility, Hanamichi." Mitsui quipped.

"Dou-Ahou, who are you?" Rukawa deadpanned.

"Are you on drugs or something Hanamichi?" Ryota asked suspiciously.

Hanamichi exploded, "Shut up Micchi, The Tensai is the pinnacle of Humility. And you…" He pointed at Rukawa, "…. Teme kitsune, I'll beat you. Just you wait, As soon as I am on that court, I'll beat your sleepy ass into the floor."

He grabbed Ryota into a headlock and started rubbibg his knuckles on Ryota's head, "You idiot, Just because that Gori is gone and he made you captain doesn't give you the rights to make stupid accusations like that. The tensai would never let drugs taint this body."

All of a sudden, a paper fan whacked everyone on the head. It was Ayako and her **Paper fan of doom**. She stood there, hands folded and tapping her foot impatiently. She looked at Ryota, "I can't believe you Ryota. You're the captain and you're slacking off in front of the freshmen. Get your butt in gear and start practicing. And I want you to get ready as well Hanamichi Sakuragi."

"But Aya-chan….."

"Don't Aya-chan me and get back to practice. Maybe then, I'll let you choose the spot for our next date."

Ryota quickly stood up, dusted himself and ran back onto the court and started barking orders left and right. Hanamichi looked lost and the rest of team gave a small cough that sounded like *whipped*

Hanamichi smiled at the scene before him and headed straight to the locker room to change.

**A/N: Well this was chapter 2 of my story. Sorry for not putting any action in this chapter but I just wanted to ease Hanamichi into the team. Thank you for taking the time to read. Please review and tell me how you feel about this story. There won't be any Yaoi and I'll probably go with HanaxFujii because haruko is too dense to realize Hanamichi's feelings. I would love to hear your thoughts on my pairing choice as well. Till next time, See ya.**


	3. The Scrimmage

Well, I don't have anything interesting to say other than this….

Chapter 3 is here.

**Disclaimer: I do not own slam dunk or any of it's characters, I only own the few OC's I create to progress this story.**

Hanamichi was getting ready for practice in the locker room. He had already finished changing into his tank top and basketball shorts, now the only thing left was his shoes. He tugged on his pair of Red and Black Nike Air Jordan 1 and tightened the laces till he felt comfortable. Once he was ready, he headed out to the gym to begin his first day of practice after nearly 6 months of being away from basketball.

The gym was a already buzzing from activity. The freshmen were going hard at practice and the seniors were going at it even harder. It seemed that Hanamichi's return sparked a fire in every one of the senior players. Everybody on the court were doing drills and some were scrimmaging.

Hanamichi was welcomed with this sight. His appearance got the senior players attention and something shocked them. They were gaping at Hanamichi and this sudden disturbance caused Anzai-sensei and Ayako to turn their attention on him as well. What they saw left both the coach and the manageress speechless.

Hanamichi had bulked up. He was taller than when he had been injured and he had put on more muscle as well. He looked like a smaller version of Akagi with his build. Ayako walked up to him with a huge smile on her face and patted Hanamichi on the head with her paper fan. She talked to him like an Elder sister would.

"Well….. well, Look at you Hanamichi. When did you start working out?"

Hanamichi started scratching his head, "You see Ayako-san, The Obaa-san who overlooked my therapy told me that I shouldn't jump or do anything that would strain my back too much but she told me that if wanted to play better, I had to build more muscle. She said it was okay for me to work out my arms and legs. She even made me healthy meals, so that I could put on more weight."

Ayako was impressed. She was about to say something when Anzai-sensei spoke up.

"If you see Mariko-san again, convey my gratitude to her for looking after you." With that, the portly coach went back to his green tea while keeping a keen eye on the practice session.

Hanamichi nodded his head vigorously and turned to Ayako and continued, "She told me that her husband was a basketball player. So she had experience in the field. She helped me put on all this muscle and she even gave me tapes of NBA games to watch that belonged to her husband. Those NBA players are something. I saw this one tape, where a guy named Michael Jordan dunked from the free throw line. He copied the Genius' dunk from my Sannoh game."

Ayako just stood there taking all of it in. She was not sure what to say. Nevertheless, one thing was certain, that Hanamichi's return was the spark needed bring Shohoku back to its peak. Anzai sensei coughed to get the attention of Hanamichi and Ayako and instructed Ayako to oversee Hanamichi's basic training for a while.

Anzai sensei called the starters from where they were watching Hanamichi's conversation with Ayako and Anzai sensei. Anzai sensei gestured them to gather around him.

"Now that Sakuragi-kun is back, Let's have a practice game. Miyagi-kun…." He pointed towards the Diminutive point guard, "Rukawa-kun and yourself will be on the same team. Pick the rest of your team from your fellow class mates and the freshmen."

Ryota nodded understandingly.

"All right coach. Rukawa, let's get ready." He directed the last part towards Rukawa who stood silent the whole time. A nod was all Ryota got in response.

_He may have gotten the all japan training but his personality still sucks._

The two Starters walked over to the rest of the members and began picking their teams. Anzai sensei turned his attention to the only remaining player, Mitsui. Seeing that his favorite Coach focused on him, Mitsui straightened up.

"Mitsui-kun, You will team up with Hanamichi and three members of your choosing and you will play a match in a few minutes. Is this all right with you ?"

Mitsui took a glance at the energetic red head who was dribbling in a corner and nodded.

"We'll be ready sensei."

"Ho ho ho ho, Good. Get Hanamichi and prepare your team, and one more thing Mitsui-kun."

The Coach's eyes were a tad concerned, "I know how competitive you are but this match is just to get Sakuragi-kun into the flow of things. Play hard but don't strain yourselves too much."

Mitsui gave a mischevious smile in response, "I don't think that monkey knows what taking it easy even means."

"Ho ho, You may be right, Mitsui-kun. Sakuragi-kun is a fighter to the end."

Mitsui gave one final nod to his coach and headed to the corner where the red head was still dribbling.

Hanamichi saw Mitsui coming and greeted him, " Hey Micchi, What are you still doing here ? Wait, I know. You probably failed the university entrance exams, am I right ?"

Mitsui stopped in his track and he was trying hard to hold back from sending Hanamichi right back into therapy.

_We need this idiot, his rebounds are essential, now that Akagi is not around. Best not to go about murdering his sorry ass._

These were the disturbing thoughts going through Mitsui's head as Hanamichi was waving his hands infront of his face. Mitsui looked Hanamichi in the eye, the sudden action caused Hanamichi to jump back.

"I didn't fail in anything you moron, I just decided to stay back to play one more year of Basketball."

Hanamichi stopped whatever retort he had come up with. He had a serious look in his eyes, As he looked up to meet Mitsui's eyes, There was the same intensity reflecting back.

Hanamichi merely held out a fist,

"Let's conquer the nation, This time for the Gorilla."

Mitsui seemed surprised at the gesture but bumped his fist with Hanamichi's anyway. He merely nodded. He turned towards Ayako who had turned her attention to whacking the lazy freshmen on the team.

"I need to borrow Hanamichi for a game, Sorry about that."

Ayako waved off his statement with a smile, "No worries Sempai. He still needs to finish his basic training after the game though."

"Don't worry Ayako-san, This Tensai will have the energy to finish his basic training even after the game, Nyahahahahahaha."

Mitsui tapped Hanamichi's back to get his attention, "Let's go Hanamichi."

Hanamichi stretched his muscles which had already been warmed up during his basic training and headed into the crowd of players following Mitsui.

Hanamichi greeted all his old teammates. Kakuta, Yasuda, Ishii and the rest of the Shohoku high basketball team. Two people walked out of the freshmen group to introduce themselves to Hanamcihi.

One was about as tall as he was in his first year, He had a spiky black hair, piercing black eyes and an easy going smile that seemed to stir something in Hanamichi. He put a fist out,

"Sakuragi-sempai, it's nice to finally meet the Rebound king. My name is Kenji Akira, pleased to make your acquaintance."

Hanamichi stared at Kenji's face blankly.

_That smile, I've seen it somewhere. Wait a minute, Akira…. Sendoh Akira….?_

"You're related to that porcupine head?!" Hanamichi exploded.

Kenji smiled uneasily before nodding a confirmation. "I'm Sendoh's brother. Though I'm nowhere as good as him."

Hanamichi calmed down and bumped Kenji's fists and turned to the other player who had accompanied Kenji.

He was a little taller than Mitsui, his brown hair was just stubble. It looked like he kept his hair very short. He walked up to Hanamichi and put out his hands. He seemed to be a bit timid.

" it's nice to meet you, Sakuragi-san. I'm Tetsuya Mori. I play shooting guard."

The freshman had his head lowered and had even bowed down. Hanamichi just laughed and slapped the player's back.

"Nice to meet you too, Tetsu. It seems the Tensai's fame has already spread. Nyahahahaha."

"Dou-ahou."

"Shut up Teme-Kitsune" Hanamichi shouted, waving his fists wildly at Rukawa.

The starters watched the interactions with small smiles on their faces, While the freshmen were shocked at the proceeding. Ryota finally decided to break up the spat by kicking Hanamichi's rear.

"That's enough out of you Hanamichi. Get ready for the game."

"I know Ryo-chin. I'll beat that Smelly fox in the game." Hanamichi kept mumbling about beating Rukawa and headed onto the court.

Ryota pointed to Tetsuya, Kuwata and Yasuda. He informed them that they were on his team for the scrimmage. Mitsui turned to Kenji and motioned for him to join his team. Kenji gave a nod and walked towards the court to join Hanamichi. He also called Kakuta and another freshman, Shou Yamata.

After the teams had been decided, Ayako who was sitting at a table on the sidelines, looked at the stat sheets to compare the match ups.

**Team A:**

**C- Toki Kuwata, 188cm, 72 kg.**

**PF- Rukawa Kaede, 188cm, 75 kg.**

**SF- Yasuda Yasuharu, 175 cm, 63 kg.**

**SG- Tetsuya Mori, 184cm, 70 kg.**

**PG- Riyota Miyagi, 169cm, 61 kg.**

**Team B:**

**C- Sakuragi Hanamichi, 195cm, 85 kg.**

**PF- Akira Kenji, 188cm, 71 kg.**

**SF- Shou Yamata, 182cm, 69 kg.**

**SG- Hisashi Mitsui, 184cm, 70 kg.**

**PG- Kakuta Hoshi, 171cm, 60 kg.**

_There are a lot of tall players this year. May be we can do it this year, Conquer the nation._

Ayako thought as she went around making her final preparations before the match began. She watched on as a freshman playing the refree took the ball to the center court as the players assumed their positions.

Hanamichi and Kuwata got ready to jump ball. Hanamichi was all fired up to play. This got the rest of the players into fight mode as well. As soon as everyone got into position, The refree tossed the ball into the air.

As soon as the ball was tossed, Ayako started her watch to keep track of the time. She looked up just in time to witness Hanamichi's famed jumping prowess. He had not wasted a second before leaping after the ball. Kuwata was yet to leave his feet. He stared in amazement as the fiery red head reached for the ball and tipped it towards Kakuta.

Before anyone could react, Hanamichi was on the ground, already dashing to the basket at a furious pace. Kakuta cleared his head and immediately heaved a high pass to Hanamichi who grabbed it near the free throw line and was already in the air throwing down a thunderous windmill dunk to score the first basket for his team.

Everyone's jaws were on the floor at Hanamichi's display of athleticism. Ryota, Mitsui, Kenji, Tetsuya, Everyone on the court were looking on amazed as Hanamichi dropped from the rim.

He turned and pointed towards Ryota and Rukawa.

"That was the **Tensai Ambush**."

Ryota and Rukawa stared down Hanamichi, feeling their competitive spirit rising.

_You'll pay for that Hanamichi. I'll make sure of it, _Ryota thought.

_You've gotten better Dou-ahou, but you still won't beat me._

Hanamichi returned to his teammates, high fiving them along the way. Anzai sensei was actually standing on the sidelines at that moment.

_Ho Ho Ho, This will be a very interesting year indeed._

The Match had finally started and Hanamichi had already made a splash.

**A/N: Well, this was the third chapter of my fic. I know I focus on Hanamichi too much but every fic I've seen in the Slam dunk filter is always focused on Rukawa. Hanamichi will be the main focus of the story but the others will always play an important part. So as always Read and review :D**


	4. Rebound King

**A/N: Sorry for this late update. Exams, holidays and results got in the way. I passed all my courses last semester and well into my 4****th**** semester of college :P I'll try to be more frequent with my updates. So without any more delays, here's Chapter 4…..**

The last basket scored by Hanamichi really put everyone in the gym on notice. They had not seen that kind of dunk done by even the national level players. Anzai-Sensei watched in amazement as Hanamichi pointed towards Rukawa and Ryota before going back to defense.

_That boy really is something._

He then went back to his tea while keeping a keen eye on the game.

"Is he the guy who blocked Masashi Kuwata and Mikio Kuwata of Sannoh?"

"Was he really in physical therapy in the past few months?"

"The guy is insane…"

These were the types of conversations occurring in the gym. The legendary match against Sannoh tech put Shohoku on the map and the rest of the Basketball community on notice. The win brought immense popularity for the Basketball team.

So there were a lot of people present in the gym to watch the practice and now they were getting a spectacle.

Hanamichi was only focused on the game, so he hadn't heard all the words of awe directed towards him. He walked back to his team mates with a huge smile on his face. Kenji, Kakuta and Shou were dumbstruck.

"Did you see this tensai's brilliance ? That was the windmill dunk, I always wanted to try it after seeing it on a tape."

Mitsui was the only one to recover from the shock of seeing Hanamichi's monster athleticism. He walked over to Hanamichi who didn't even notice him. He was too busy explaining the dunk.

As soon as Mitsui walked up to Hanamichi, he slapped Hanamichi upside the head. Hanamichi jumped and shouted while trying to soothe his abused head.

"Hey what gives, Michhi?"

Mitsui glared hard at Hanamichi, "You Idiot. Why don't you just go for a normal lay-up or dunk? Why do you have to make it flashy?"

Now Hanamichi was pissed, "What? I don't hear you or anyone on the team complaining when that smelly fox makes all kinds of stupid plays and in the course of the game at that."

"When you reprimand that smelly fox for showing off, you can come lecture me. Right now, We have a game to win."

Everyone was shocked. Hanamichi never talked back like this to anyone. Sure he complained but he never actually retaliated with words. This was a first.

Mitsui was taken aback, In essence Hanamichi was right. No one questioned Rukawa for his reckless plays. They always let him do what he wanted, now Hanamichi had noticed that. Mitsui felt like a hypocrite.

But he was too proud to admit he was wrong. So he just went back to his position to defend. Ryota and Rukawa looked at each other and shrugged.

"Let's go win this one, Rukawa."

"Yeah, we can't let that dou-ahou get too full of himself."

Rukawa's reply came as a bit of surprise to the new captain. He smirked and realized something important. Hanamichi had that innate ability that wanted to make everyone challenge the read head.

"Guess you're right on that regard, can't let that idiot get too cocky."

Ryota handed the ball to Kuwata. Kuwata inbounded it back to Ryota and went ahead to get his position near the basket.

Ryota calmly dribbled the ball up the court allowing the offense to set up. He knew that Kakuta was not a scoring option right now as the 3rd year was struggling against the new centre of Shohoku. Hanamichi was intent on showing what he had learned in his time away.

He dribbled the ball slowly up to the top of the 3-point line. Kakuta was the one guarding him, so he wasn't worried. Mitsui was not guarding Tetsuya too close as he probably wanted to rotate off of him if Kenji wanted any help against Rukawa.

Ryota knew he had to use this. So he made one final survey of the court and sped up his dribble. Kakuta tensed up knowing that he had a hard defensive assignment in this scrimmage.

Ryota snuck a peek at Rukawa and when their eyes met, a small nod was all that was required. Ryota exploded towards the right of Kakuta, Kakuta reacted a second too late and Ryota had already blown past him.

Kakuta watched helplessly as Ryota headed straight for Kuwata and Hanamichi. Knowing Hanamichi's impulses, Ryota jumped in the air, close to the basket for a layup but realized too late that Hanamichi hadn't taken the bait.

A sudden shout alerted everyone of Rukawa's presence.

"Watch out, It's a fake."

It was Kenji, who had lost Rukawa after the All-japan player had shaken off the first year. Rukawa ran around Kuwata and Hanamichi and called for the ball.

Ryota dished a no look pass towards Rukawa who caught the ball and immediately lifted in the air for a jumper.

All of a sudden, a figure blocked his vision. Hanamichi had somehow rotated over to block him. Hanamichi took to the air.

His vertical leap exceeding even the prodigy's jump. Hanamichi glared at Rukawa.

"Did you really think you could get that shot off?"

Rukawa's shock dissolved immediately, masked by his indifferent façade.

"I didn't," was all that the ace had to offer. Before he turned and heaved the ball towards Tetsuya who was left open at the 3-point line by Mitsui.

Mitsui tried to recover and prevent the shot but he only managed to get a hand in the face of the freshman. Tetsuya let the shot fly from the right corner and held his hand in the swan neck pose as he watched the ball descend.

"It's a rebound!", Mitsui shouted.

And sure enough, The ball clanged off the back rim. Tetsuya was shocked that his shot missed. Everyone started fighting for position to get the rebound.

The people on the sidelines, the freshman, the Coach and Ayako knew what was coming next.

In the court, Rukawa was shocked to see that Hanamichi had somehow managed to box him and Kuwata out at the same time.

Hanamichi turned his head slightly and gave a small smirk, "Did you really think I would let anyone of you get a rebound over me?"

His eyes turned deadly serious, the fire in his eyes equivalent of their former captain.

"Let me give you a small reminder of why everyone calls me by that name….."

The moment the ball reached the apex of it's trajectory, Hanamichi's entire body tensed, the inhuman muscle strength of his leg getting ready, ready to show the world.

A split second later, he was off the ground. Out jumping everyone on the court, his huge hands stretching to grab the rebound.

Once he grabbed the ball, he palmed it with both his hands and landed with a huge force. The muscles absorbing the impact. They had shown the world why Hanamichi was called by that name.

"REBOUND KING!" was the resounding shout through the Shohoku high school gym.

And if one had taken a moment to look at Hanamichi, they would have seen one of the most genuine smiles gracing his features as he landed.

**A/N: And cut… Well hope you like this chapter. I dunno how many of you are sticking with this. But hope this appeases you for now. I'll try to update more soon. Take care and as always Read&amp;review guys :D**


	5. Do not doubt yourselves

**Chapter 5:**

Hanamichi straightened his hunched body after retrieving the rebound. He palmed the ball and stared directly into Rukawa's eyes.

"There may be a lot of things that you are better at than me. But this is the one area where I'll never let anyone of you beat me at."

The conviction in his voice rang throughout the gym sending a chill up everyone's spine. Anzai-sensei merely nodded and went back to his tea.

Ayako couldn't help but smile. She thought of all the time that Hanamichi had arrogantly announced that he was a genius. But Rebounding the basketball was the one thing no one could take away from Hanamichi Sakuragi.

'He's come a long way from that point' Ayako thought as she filled the stats in her stat sheet.

"Watch me you smelly fox. I'll be the best player in japan," said Hanamichi as he passed the ball back to Kakuta. Mitsui and Kenji snapped out of their stupor and went to set up on offense.

Rukawa just glared at Hanamichi as he backpedalled to defend the basket. Ryota was practically beaming.

'That Idiot is still the best when it comes to rebounding. Thank you gods, for answering my prayer.'

Both the teams were playing Shohoku's usual man-to-man defense.

Kakuta brought up the ball and was deciding in a play, when a sudden blur infront of him knocked out oh thoughts.

The miniscule captain of Shohoku had stolen the ball from right under Kakuta's nose and was already on his way to the basket.

Rukawa and Tetsuya were following close behind. The only ones who were fast enough to catch the opposing players were Hanamichi who had bolted the moment the ball was stolen.

The surprise was the Kenji was following Hanamichi close behind trying to catch up with the offense.

Ryota found Hanamichi closing in on him and decided to do something, He deliberately slowed down wanting Hanamichi to catch up.

As soon as Hanamichi had gotten infront of him near the centre of the court, Ryota burst forward again.

He smiled at Hanamichi as he attempted to keep up with one of the best penetrators in the game.

All of a sudden, Ryota crossed the ball over behind his back. Hanamichi, thinking that the captain would go to his right shifted his weight to his right side hoping to shut down the speedy guard.

But then, in one smooth motion, The crafty guard crossed the ball over again in front of him leaving all the players on the court stupefied.

'A double crossover, with a behind the back?' Mitsui thought, as he sprinted trying to recover on defense.

'That was beautiful.' Thought Anzai as he did his signature 'ho ho ho' laugh expressing his amazement with the innovation of the captain.

Back on the court, There wasn't enough time to admire the move. Hanamichi fell on his ass trying to re-align his weight.

"He broke his ankle." A guy in the bleachers shouted.

"He knocked the monk on his ass." Another shouted in amazement. Soon enough the whole crowd was murmuring about the play.

Hanamichi looked up from his position on the floor as the captain took his open path to the basket.

Ryota was about to do a layup when another figure closed in on the ball. His eyes widened as the figure's hand reached for the ball.

'Who the hell?...' He was looking straight into the eyes of the freshman Kenji Akira.

'Almost have it.' Thought Kenji. He was proud that he had actually managed to sneak up on the captain. But then he realized that the captain's look of surprise had turned into a smug smirk.

'What is he planning?' and all of a sudden Ryota send a no look behind the back bounce pass towards the free throw line.

The ball bounced off the floor and right into the hands of a vengeful Rukawa. He wasted no time as he took two long steps and dunked the ball with bad Intentions.

Everyone cheered at the amazing play that was run by Ryota's team. Rukawa didn't waste anytime , he just jogged back onto defense.

The crowd was going wild with everyone cheering both the teams on.

"It's just been three possessions and we've already seen amazing plays." Said one spectator to another.

"I wonder what else they're gonna do," Replied his friend.

Kenji and Mitsui walked over and helped Hanamichi to his feet. Hanamichi face was somber.

Mitsui tried to placate Hanamichi, "Forget about that Hanamichi. It's hard for big men to defend guards."

Kenji joined in as well, "They're faster and have a better control over the ball. It's hard defending them, so forget about the last play."

Kakuta and Shou came over and began apologizing for their lack of focus. Mitsui waived them off warning them to be alert at all times.

Meanwhile Hanamichi was trying to make sense of his blunder right now.

'He dropped me on my butt with that move'

He tightened his fists and his body began to tremble.

'Darn… even after all this time, I'm so easy to get by.'

He shook his head and remembered that he was in a game. He couldn't afford to lose his composure over a single play.

"I'm sorry about that guys." Hanamichi apologized to his team-mates. "I won't let them pass me again. Count on it."

The fire was back in his eyes and Mitsui was happy to see that the fancy play hadn't damaged his confidence.

Suddenly Mitsui had an Idea. He called his team over to explain their next play. Once the team was huddled together, he told them what he had in mind.

Kakuta and Shou were a bit unsure if they were skillful enough to pull of a crazy play like the one that the Shohoku vice captain had suggested.

Kenji and Hanamichi merely smiled at one another. If this play succeeded, Ryota's fancy moves would be an afterthought.

Mitsui turned to Shou. Shou Yamata was also a freshman. He wasn't a standout but the kid had excellent stamina. He was decent shooter from mid range but his penetration and 3 pointer needed work.

Shou yamata was a lanky kid. He was almost as tall as Mitsui, just a couple of centimeters shorter. He had medium length black hair that he had kept out of his face with a headband.

"Don't doubt yourselves." Mitsui enunciated. He looked both Kakuta and Shou in the eyes.

"Shohoku players never doubt themselves."

Those words were enough to erase the doubts in their hearts. They both nodded to the former MVP with their eyes brimming with the will to win.

Mitsui put his hands in the centre of their group and waited. The rest of the team didn't waste anytime before putting their own hands on Mitsui's.

"Let's win this." Was all Mitsui needed to say.

"HELL YEAH!" was the chorus reply from his team.

**A/N: And another chapter done. Thank you for the reviews, the favorites and the follows. It means so much to me that you are actually enjoying this story and I can hopefully entertain you for a while longer. And as always, Read and Review :D**


	6. Don't underestimate me

**A/N: Sorry about the late update once again. College is really getting in the way of anything creative. My course is crazy and this semester was especially tough but I have a few days before my finals begin, so here is another chapter for you guys.**

Mitsui inbounded the ball to Kakuta who brought it up to the half court line. Though he was invigorated by Mitsui's words, he was still nervous about facing off against one of the best point guards in the prefecture.

Ryota was in no hurry to shut down Kakuta, evident with the way that the diminutive captain of the Shohoku high basketball team was standing at the top of the key. Hanamichi had taken up his position near the basket, for whatever Mitsui had in mind.

Mitsui and Shou were circling the perimeter trying to lose their defenders. Yasuda was up against the freshman Shou while Tetsuya was guarding the dangerous Mitsui.

Mitsui held up his arm, signaling Kakuta. He guarded the ball to pay attention to vice captain. Everyone one on Mitsui's team were intently listening to him.

He just gave a sly grin, "Let's get these punks."

Kakuta, feeling a little confident sized up the captain. Ryota was laid back, almost as if he was taunting Kakuta to try something. Kakuta knew he wasn't as skilled as some of the other members of Shohoku but he wasn't about to let a little difference in skill bring him down.

After all, Shohoku were always the underdogs in every match up. But win or lose, they gave everything they had to the game and laid everything on the court.

So Kakuta did a little head fake. But it was no use as Ryota didn't even flich. Then something crazy popped up in his head. Something he had seen last year during the Ryonan game. He decided to go for it as there was nothing to lose.

Kakuta suddenly burst past Ryota, who was a little baffled by the sudden attack. Everyone was surprised to see the usually timid Kakuta so aggressive.

Kakuta was shocked that he had actually gotten past the captain. But this was not the play he had in mind at all. But he immediately cleared his head and ran a play in his mind. He charged towards the basket, heading right for Hanamichi and Kuwata.

Hanamichi had won the position battle again and was holding his hand for a pass. Kakuta was about to pass it to Hanamichi when suddenly he sensed something coming for the ball from behind him. He faked a pass to Hanamichi just in time to see Rukawa swipe at the ball but he was a little too late.

Kakuta turned and passed it immediately to Kenji who was left open by Rukawa in his attempt to steal the ball. Ryota had recovered and immediately, he was all over Kakuta. Ryota smiled, "That was unexpected kakuta-senpai."

"You shouldn't underestimate anyone Ryota," Kakuta replied. "You should know that by now."

"Best thing about mistakes, is that you can learn from them." Was Ryota's reply.

Mitsui was impressed by Kakuta's aggressiveness and drive to the basket. He knew that every Shoholu player had a fire in them. All they had to do was bring it out.

He was going to do it. They were going to conquer the nation….. As a team.

Mistui took off running towards the top of the key, with Tetsuya following closely behind. Kenji was trying really hard to get the ball past Rukawa.

Tetsuya was so focused on Mitsui that he completely missed the giant shadow in his peripheral vision. He ran smack dab into a wall of muscles and stumbled onto his butt. But his force sent the other guy to the floor revealing him to be Shou.

Kenji noticing that Mitsui was free, jumped up and heaved the ball over to him. But the shock of the screen put him off balance and the shot was a bit off.

"REBOUND!" Mitsui exclaimed.

The ball clanked off the rim and bounced out to the left. To everyone's surprise , it was Rukawa who was reaching for the ball this time. But suddenly Hanamichi jumped up in front of Rukawa blocking him off with his body.

He grabbed the ball with one hand and slammed it right back in for a huge put back dunk.

"Bald Gorilla Dunk!" Hanamichi shouted as he landed after that basket. He turned to Rukawa, "Told you, you smelly fox. All of the rebounds are mine. ALL MINE. Nyahahahahaha…"

There was a huge roar of approval from everyone on the court. Even Ryota was nodding his head in approval.

**Team A : 02**

**Team B : 04**

Back on the sidelines, Ayako was conversing with Anzai-sensei.

"Sensei, Wasn't that the same dunk he did before Hanamichi was removed from the Sannoh game?"

Anzai-sensei merely nodded his head like a wise sage. "Putbacks are much more easier than securing rebounds and going up back for a shot." He then took a sip of his ever present Herbal Tea.

"Ho Ho Ho. Everyone is in great spirits this year. I wonder how far they can push themselves this time." He then gave one of his rare smiles and then returned back to his tea.

Ayako watched Anzai-Sensei put his two cents before turning back to the court. "Just you watch Sensei. They'll do it this year. They'll conquer the nation." She pumped her fist while waving her paper fan of doom.

"We have to do it. Not just for us, but for the people who left the job of conquering the nation to us. We have to do it for Akagi-Senpai and Kogure-Senpai. This was their dream after all."

Back on the court, Mitsui had calmed everyone down and held out a hand to Shou. The freshman grabbed it and hauled himself on to his feet. Mitsui gave him a pat on the back, "Nice screen kid. If wasn't shocked, we could have converted that basket earlier."

Shou shook the hair away from his face, "Don't worry senpai. I'll let you know when I'm setting the screen next time." Mitsui nodded and jogged back to defense. Shou followed him back as well.

The other team were planning their next attack. Ryota got the ball and looked over to Rukawa who showed no emotion as was the norm.

"What do you want to do Rukawa?"

Rukawa turned to him with fire blazing in his eyes, "Give me the ball." He said, emphasizing with his hands. He was mad. Hanamichi had taunted him twice in this match and it had only been a few minutes in.

_That Dou-ahou has gotten better but I'll never let that idiot catch up to me._

Ryota knew that Rukawa was probably going to do something crazy. He gave the ball to Rukawa and he signaled his team mates to give Rukawa the room to work.

Everyone from the audience to the players knew what was coming next. Suddenly it felt like someone had turned the temperature up in the gym.

Mitsui, Hanamichi, Kenji, Kakuta and Shou were ready for the All-Japan player. With that Rukawa started his attack.

**A/N: And Cut… SO there you have it folks. Something to tide you guys over till the next chapter. I wanted to ask you guys if you want me to go play by play during the games or a few plays?  
Let me know in the reviews. I'll try to get more of this story up this week.  
But it's hard to type large chapters as I type it off my head. I don't have anything pre-planned and I just go with the flow. So bear with me and review :D**


	7. Clash of the titans

**I'm ALIIIIIVEEEEEEEE!  
Here's the next chapter of Hanamichi's Rebirth :D  
Enjoy….**

Rukawa wasted no time bursting to the basket. He weaved in and out of the defense, like a hot knife through butter. Kakuta was no match for the enraged all-japan player. He fell for the head fake that Rukawa gave him and was knocked out of the play just like that.

Shou readied himself as Rukawa was heading straight for him, he decided to play it safe and hung back. But Rukawa was having none of it. He went head first into Shou who furiously backpedalled to keep up with the ace and avoid causing a blocking foul. All of a sudden Rukawa pulled back on the dribble. Shou knew he was done for as he fell back trying to stop himself.

Mitsui was wise enough to cover his man instead of trying to challenge the second year ace. He was on the perimeter holding off the rookie Tetsuya. Kenji had enough of Rukawa and went to face the steam rolling Rukawa.

Rukawa slowed his dribble and hung back, Just as Kenji set himself up in a good defensive position, Rukawa attacked. He charged straight into Kenji but Kenji managed to stay ahead of Rukawa. He then faked a cross to the left, Kenji anticipated this and didn't bite for the fake. Then Rukawa went for a behind the back towards the left side. Kenji was fooled by the move and went the other way.

The ace headed for the basket for a dunk, He held the ball as he jumped but Hanamichi was flying through the air trying to block the shot. Rukawa didn't even bat an eye as he deftly clutched the ball closer to his body and spun around the angry red-head and laid the ball in without much trouble.

The entire gym was silent. Everyone's breathing could be heard, then the whole gym exploded in cheers at the spectacle that Rukawa Kaede, the ace of Shohoku had just displayed. There were cheers all around.

**Team A : 04**

**Team B : 04**

"RU, RU, RUKAWA…. RUKAWA….. L-O-V-E RUKAWA….." The Rukawa brigade was probably the loudest.

"That Rukawa, He gets better everytime he plays the game. Doesn't he Sensei?" Ayako looked to the coach for an answer.

He just gave a nod.

"He is probably one of the best players in the country but he seems to have forgotten the most important thing he learned against Sannoh."

Ayako was confused as she stared at her coach to make sense of what he just said. Anzai sensei merely looked on at Rukawa.

"He seemed to have regressed back into his one on one mentality where he thinks he can do anything on his own. It feels like he's forgotten his passing ability."

He said no more as he shook his head and went back to his tea. Ayako realized that he was right. Rukawa finally learned to trust his teammates in the Sannoh game. Making key passes that led their overthrowing of the reigning champions.

Rukawa ignored all the attention that he was receiving on and off the court as he went back to defense.

Hanamichi picked the ball up and slammed it hard on the floor.

"DAMN IT!"

Mitsui came up and patted him on the shoulders. He pulled him close as he spoke.

"Don't worry about his plays. No matter what he did, that was just two points."

"Still, he got past the entire team. Alone." Hanamichi protested. He was boiling over with rage after he witnessed his team surgically dissected by Rukawa.

Mitsui slapped Hanamichi on the head. This pissed Hanamichi even more,

"HEY! What was that for..?"

Mitsui just glared at Hanamichi. He looked around at his other teammates. All of them looked like they were electrocuted.

'Just one play and that guy brought the morale down.' Mitsui thought as he stared at Rukawa's bored face.

He clapped his hands to snap the team out of the slump they were beginning to fall into. He smiled at everyone before pointing to the score board.

"We're even and the match is just starting. Don't be so hard on yourselves. Like I said, we're Shohoku, We don't give up till the final buzzer goes off."

That seemed to do a little to bring the spirit of the players back up. Mitsui inbounded the ball to Kakuta who brought it up the court to begin their play.

Kakuta was trying to think of what to do and at the same time guard the ball from the captain. The last play by Rukawa had left him shaken and he wasn't concentrating. Ryota managed to steal the ball and zoomed to the other side for an easy lay up.

**Team A : 06**

**Team B : 04**

Kakuta bowed his head and apologized for his mistake. Mitsui just waved it off, telling him to be more careful with the ball around Ryota.

Kakuta brought the ball up to the half court with Ryota hanging at the perimeter, ready to defend whatever Kakuta threw at him. Kakuta tried to charge past the captain but to no avail.

So he sent the ball to Mitsui on the perimeter who sent it back to reset Kakuta's dribble. Kakuta measured his captain. With no other choice, he went up for a jump shot. Ryota jumped but Kakuta faked it and passed the ball to Hanamichi in the post. Kuwata was being pushed around way too easily around the paint.

Hanamichi held the ball for a second before turning around for a seamless jumper that sent the ball swishing through the net.

**Team A : 06**

**Team B : 06**

"Yes!" Hanamichi exclaimed as he pointed to Kakuta, Acknowledging his assist.

'Not bad. The kid's getting better down low. He may still be a successor to Akagi.' Thought Mitsui as he set up the defense.

Ryota informed his teammates that they needed to put more points and get more stops in the next few plays. His Teammates nodded their heads before getting into position.

Kenji shadowed Rukawa's every move. Mitsui stuck to Tetsuya like glue and Shou was on Yasuda who had not been a factor yet in the game.

Ryota measured kakuta with a few careful dribbles. He then jerked forward which got Kakuta to step back. Ryota immediately passed it to Tetsuya who had managed to get Mitsui off of him for a few precious seconds. He went up for a shot but Shou rotated over to block him on the right side. Tetsuya now had Mitsui and Shou blocking his field of vision, so heaved it towards the free throw line where Yasuda was left open by Shou.

Yasuda calmly caught the ball and drilled the jumper without much trouble. This gave the lead back to team A.

Mitsui went to the inbound the ball but Ryota stole it. The captain had not gone back to defend but was waiting behind Kakuta himself. Ryota managed to score another easy bucket to put his team up by 4 points.

Mitsui cursed himself for not noticing the diminutive guard. He was more careful in passing the ball to the guard. Ryota pleased with the last play was waiting at his usual spot at the top of the key.

Kakuta was determined to get his team going. They could not afford to fall too far behind in the first half itself. He quickened his dribble just a bit to give him the speed needed for the next play.

He saw Mitsui signaling a pick with his hands. He gave a inconspicuous nod and burst to the right wing of the court. Mitsui grinned at Ryota's shocked face as the captain ran straight into the pick.

Kakuta was now free and open since Tetsuya had failed to switch over after the screen. Kakuta went for jump shoot but it clanked off the far side of the rim. Hanamichi didn't waste anytime clearing space under the board for the rebound.

He knocked aside Kuwata and Held back the athletic ace Rukawa with apparent ease before leaping after the lose ball and bringing it down with a resounding force. He noticed Kenji running to the basket and lobbed the ball to him.

Rukawa saw the pass and rushed to defend the rookie. Kenji caught the ball near the free throw line and went up hard for a dunk. Rukawa was in the air to challenge the rookie.

Kenji wasn't intimidated by the ace challenging his dunk and but he shot a no look pass back to Kakuta who sailed in for the lay up which helped bring the lead down to two points.

Kenji smiled at the success of the impromptu play and high fived both Kakuta and Hanamichi. Hanamichi slapped the rookie's back in usual spirited fashion that almost caused the rookie to choke.

"Good one little porcupine head. You finally show why you deserve to be on this tensai's team. Nyahahahahahaah…." Hanamichi had begun his Tensai routine.

Kenji just laughed with his senior in good nature. Mitsui called them back to defense before congratulating them for the play.

"Good one guys. Let's keep the pressure on them and score some more baskets."

The entire team roared in agreement.

The gym was getting packed as the word of the scrimmage spread through the school. Many students were standing wherever they could find an empty space to witness the match.

Matsuri and Fuuji were hurrying to the court to see the practice when they ran into the Sakuragi Gundan outside the gym.

Yohei noticed the girls and gave a small smile.

"Ah Fuuji-san, Matsuri-san. Are you heading to watch the practice as well?"

The girls gave an excited nod. They were pumped to see the new Shohoku in practice, and so were the Gundan. Their Leader was finally back from rehab and ready to play basketball again.

There were loud noises coming from the gym. Takamiya scratched his wobbly chin,

"I wonder what's got the crowd this excited."

Noma and Ookusu hummed in agreement with their chubby friend. Yohei shook his head and started to go into the gym. He beckoned the others to follow him.

The group was shocked to see so many people packed into the gym. There were students sitting around the court, people standing on the rafters.

They managed to push their way to where Ayako was standing with the Coach. She noticed the group heading towards her and gave a wave.

"Ah, you guys finally made it." She said in a cheerful tone.

"Ne-chan, you're awfully happy today. Did something good happen..?" was Takamiya's question.

Ayako just shook her head and nodded towards the court where the scrimmage was taking place. The two teams were going at it with reckless abandon.

It was almost halftime and the score was 36-29 with Ryota's team in the lead.

Mitsui broke free off Tetsuya to get the ball from Kenji after Kenji had managed to get past Rukawa. Mitsui shot a 3 pointer from the top of the key.

The ball sailed in without much trouble. This brought the game to 36-32 with Team A still in the lead.

Ryota was none too pleased with the way things were going. They had managed to disrupt the momentum Mitsui's team had gathered after Kenji's assist.

With Ryota and Rukawa leading the team, they had gone a 26-24 run through the half. Rukawa made a couple of baskets with his one on one game against most of the opponents. Ryota hadn't scored much but he was setting up the plays for his teammates to score some easy buckets.

Yasuda had managed to surprise his team mates by getting a couple of steals and a 2 points. Kuwata, though overwhelmed by Hanamichi had managed to score 4 points against the angry red head. Tetsuya had a couple of three pointers and a few assist.

Team B had slow start as they were steam rolled for a while after their basket with Kenji. They had missed a lot of shots due to the defensive pressure put on by Team A.

Hanamichi had gotten to work on the boards, grabbing most of the missed shots from his team mates and those of the opponents. He already had a double digit rebound figure. He was angry and irritated by how his team were playing. They were down by 20 points when Hanamichi started asking for the ball under the basket.

Mitsui seeing no other options, gave permission to run the offence through Hanamichi. He had not disappointed. Hanamichi had scored six points by backing kuwata down and laying the ball in.

This caused Ryota to put pressure on Hanamichi resulting in mismatches for Hanamichi's team. They took advantage and made a comeback with Kenji scoring 8 points. Mitsui had a couple of 3 pointers including the one to bring the lead to 4 again. Kakuta was setting up plays along with his 2 points. Shou had made a 3 point play as well.

This match was a great one in the first half itself and people were wondering what the second half would be like.

There was a buzz in the gym that no one could ignore. Things were changing and big things were going on for Shohoku.

With 4 minutes left in the 1st half. Ryota wanted a double digit lead going into the second half. He dribbled casually to the top of the key and passed the ball to Rukawa.

Kenji immediately got low and was on his toes, Ready for anything and everything the ace could throw at him. Rukawa held the ball near his right shoulder in a triple threat position. He jabbed his left foot hoping that Kenji would bite but he didn't.

So Rukawa immediately put the ball to the floor and tried to blow past the rookie. Kenji was beaten again by the ace but he wasn't about to give. Rukawa drove to the left side of the basket where it was empty. He noticed Kenji still coming after him with all his might.

Just as Kenji reached Rukawa, Rukawa stopped. This caused Kenji to overcompensate and left Rukawa wide open. Rukawa dribbled the ball between his legs and did a little hop step to the three point line and let it fly.

Kenji could merely watch as Rukawa had used his one of his brother's and score a 3 pointer over him. The ball went in with a swish and pushed the lead upto 7 points.

**Team A : 39**

**Team B : 32**

People were cheering all around. The entire gym sounded like there was a festival taking place inside.

Yohei and the rest of the gundan looked around in wonder at the response this match had gotten from the entire crowd present in the gym.

"I didn't think the students even cared for the basketball team." Yohei put forth to the manager.

She just shook her head with a wistful smile. "They didn't. but ever since the Sannoh game, there has been a constant rise in the students coming to watch matches and practice sessions."

"Makes you feel like a proud mother doesn't it ?" Noma questioned.

Ayako merely nodded without taking her eyes off the court. The Girls were speechless. Between the match and the crowd, they could just stare at the 10 players battling it out on the court.

Back on the court, Hanamichi was at his breaking point.

"Come on, we need to stop that damn fox from scoring on us all the time."

Mitsui could only shake his head. "I know that Hanamichi but he's too good to guard. You saw how he weaves around our players."

Hanamichi grinded his teeth in caged frustration when he had an idea. He looked Mitsui in the eye.

"Micchi, Let me guard him."

Mitsui looked at Hanamichi like he'd grown a second head. He couldn't believe that Hanamichi was stupid enough to think that he could guard Rukawa after what he'd just seen the ace do.

"Did rehab kill all the braincells you had left? You can't guard Rukawa. He's too good."

Anzai had witnessed the encounter and finally put down his tea and called the both of them to his side.

He merely looked at Hanamich, and asked in his zen voice "Sakuragi-kun, You are the center of the team now. No matter what another player does is of no import to you. You must guard your player and defend your basket with your life."

Hanamichi tightened his fist trying to quell the rage within him.

Anzai noticed this and smiled.

"but since this is a practice game, I will allow you guard Rukawa-kun. But you must not lose heart if he beats you Sakuragi-kun, As I've already told you. You must first accept the fact that he is better than you in order to become better than him."

Hanamichi could only nod his assent at the portly Coach's words which he painfully knew were true. It still didn't make it any easier to accept.

He laid his pudgy hands on both Mitsui and Hanamichi's shoulders. He looked them both in the eye.

"You are strong."

With those words, he returned to his tea.

Mitsui looked at the coach before turning back to Hanamichi.

"You heard the coach. Guard Rukawa but I don't want to hear you whine if he beats you."

Hanamichi looked at the floor and just pumped his fist. Mitsui gave an unsure look at Hanamichi before heading back to the court.

He relayed the coach's wishes to the team. They had the same expression as Mitsui. They were unsure if anyone could guard Rukawa. Hanamichi shrugged off the looks as he went to his position under the basket.

Kenji inbounded the ball to kakuta who narrowly avoided a steal from the sneaky Ryota. He was careful in bringing the ball to the opponent's side. He glanced at the scoreboard.

**Team A : 39**

**Team B : 32**

With barely 3 minutes remaining before the half. He gave the ball off to Mitsui who pump faked. Tetsuya bought the fake and left his feet. Mitsui dribbled past the player and went for a mid range jumper. But his shot was blocked by the quiet Yasuda who had rotated off Shou to prevent the basket.

People were on their feet hoping to see what happened next. There were a few shouts of congratulations on the block as well.

Mitsui scrambled to get the loose ball but it went out of bounds before anyone could reach it. The ref blew the whistle and signaled that it was team B's ball. There was barely 3 minutes left on the clock.

Mitsui got the ball and looked around for a free player to pass the ball. Everyone was guarded closely. Tetsuya put a hand in his face hoping to disrupt the inbound.

Mitsui was getting desperate. His 5 seconds were almost up. He gave a shout of frustration and heaved the ball towards the basket. He hoped that Hanamichi would be gunning for that ball.

To answer his prayers, Hanamichi did out jump both Rukawa and Kuwata to grab the ball which bounced off the glass due to the force with which it was thrown. He landed with a thud right in between Rukawa and Kuwata. The players ganged up on him trying to pry the ball loose.

With a mighty roar, He rose back up from under the basket and dunked the ball with the defenders draped all over him.

The refree blew the whistle.

"Shooting foul. Team A. Basket counts, 1 free throw."

There was loud roar from the crowd on that hustle play. People on the sidelines were cheering for Hanamichi.

"Rebound king! Rebound king! Rebound King!" echoed in the gym.

Hanamichi, to his credit was already at the free throw line going through his routine. He grabbed the ball, Bent his knees and threw the Rick Barry underhand free throw. The ball swished through.

That play cut the lead to 4 points with 2 minutes remaining.

Ryota was impressed and fired up at the same time. He got the ball and brought it up to the key before he was hounded by kakuta.

'He's not even giving me room to move' Ryota was surprised by Kakuta's aggressive defense.

'Kakuta's been surprising me over and over again today.'

Ryota put out his hand trying to fend off kakuta. He posted up against the taller player waiting for the chance. Kakuta wasn't about to take any chance and tried to steal the ball. He reached around Ryota with his right hand to try and poke the ball.

This gave Ryota enough room to his left. He spun and beat Kakuta in one smooth move. The moment he was free, he threw a no look pass to Rukawa and saw that Kenji was guarding Kuwata.

He was shocked when he turned and saw that Rukawa was being guarded by Hanamichi himself.

'What is that moron thinking now?' He looked to Mitsui for an explanation. Mitsui merely shrugged and pointed at the coach who was paying close attention to the upcoming one-on-one.

Rukawa didn't give off any signs or emotion. He merely stared at Hanamichi with his usual cold eyes.

"Dou-ahou…. Did you get hit in the head?"

Hanamichi growled at the insult. "Shut up you stupid fox. I'm gonna stop you."

Rukawa was insulted.

'Does this idiot truly believe he's capable of stopping me. The fool, I'll show him.'

Rukawa exploded to the left of Hanamichi. But to his credit, Hanamichi had somehow managed to keep up with the crafty ace. Rukawa pulled back surprising Hanamichi who recovered quickly and prevented an easy run to the basket.

Everyone kept their eyes on the two rising stars of Shohoku going at it. People held their breaths waiting for the outcome of this battle.

"I'm better than you. I'll always be better than you, Dou-ahou. You're a hundred years too early to guard me."

Hanamichi wasn't fazed by his words. He knew that Rukawa was right. He knew that Rukawa was better than him. But as the Coach said, the first step in getting better was accepting the fact that he wasn't the best out there.

"I know that you teme Kitsune. I know I'm nowhere as good as you but that isn't gonna stop me from guarding you. I'm the Basketto-man Hanamichi Sakuragi and I'll stop you."

With those words, Hanamichi lunged for the ball, Rukawa was taken by surprise but he avoided the steal with a smooth behind the back dribble. He did a hesitation dribble near the left corner and burst past Hanamichi and headed straight to the bucket for a dunk.

As he crossed Hanamichi, Rukawa said "I'll always be better than you."

Just as he was about to punch the ball through the rim, Hanamichi's huge hand came from behind and swatted the ball with tremendous force as it reflected off the back board and went out of bounds.

Both the players landed with a thud, sweating and panting from the exertion of the half. Rukawa stared angrily at Hanamichi.

Hanamichi glared at Rukawa just as fiercely.

"It's true that there is always someone better than you, but sometimes you need to look down cause the weaker guy might just be at your feet."

The crowd erupted in tremendous shouts. They were extremely shocked to see this kind of matchups in a practice game. Everyone cheered for the players.

All around the court, people were shocked to see the ace being blocked by the goofy red head.

Yohei, Takamiya, Noma and Ookusu could only smile in pride as they saw their leader mature into a great player.

"Go Hanamichi….You can do it!"

"Beat that fox Hanamichi!"

These were the words of encouragement from the Gundan.

Hanamichi looked at the clock, There was barely a minute left in the half and they were down by 4. They had to get a stop here and score a basket before the half ended.

Ryota got over the shock of witnessing the day that Hanamichi bested Rukawa got the ball and passed it to Tetsuya. He tried everything against the former MVP but the senior player was a defensive expert.

Mitsui managed to counter all of Tetsuya's moves and anticipated all his fakes. Tetsuya finally freed himself with a crossover and passed it to the silent Yasuda who was jumped by Hanamichi.

Yasuda dropped the ball to Kuwata who hit a bank shot to push the lead back to 6 points.

**Team A : 41**

**Team B : 36**

Ryota and his team congratulated Kuwata for his scoring as they went back to defense. Kakuta didn't plan his moves as there was less than 30 seconds till the end of the half.

He burst past Ryota with speed he didn't even know he had. But as soon as he reached the free throw line, He was shut down by Yasuda. He then found Shou free near the right corner and shot a pass to him.

Shou was a bit nervous when he received the ball and he didn't set his feet properly before shooting. Causing the shot to go awry. Kakuta got hold of the long rebound.

They didn't have much time, He noticed Hanamichi asking for the ball in the low post. With no other option, He gave a bounce pass to the red head.

Hanamichi received the ball at the lower left block. Kuwata was finally putting all his strength into guarding Hanamichi. Hanamichi held the ball, He didn't know where to go from here.

He knew time was running out, so he decided to try something he'd seen in the video he saw when he was in rehab.

He dribbled the ball once, gaining a bit of ground. He dribbled and pushed again, forcing Kuwata back.

All of a sudden, He spun around and went for a jump shot. Kuwata jumped to block it but Hanamichi had faked. Just as Kuwata went up, Hanamichi stepped under Kuwata's hands and laid the ball in with ease.

**Team A : 41**

**Team B : 38**

And the whistle blew signaling the end of the first half.

**A/N : AAAAAAnnnnnnnddddd Cut. So there you guys, my next chapter of Slam dunk : Hanamichi's rebirth. This is my longest chapter ever at 4K words, Hope you guys enjoy it. Sorry for the lack of dialogues as I wanted to fit in as much of the match as possible. Hopefully you guys enjoy it. Tell me what you think in the reviews….. See you next time.**


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